Lodgepole pine beetle, Dendroctonus murryanae,
 

Fig. 98 Lodgepole pine beetle larvae. Note the anal shields.	Fig. 99 Lodgepole pine beetle egg and larval galleries. Note: larval galleries may run together and become indistinct.	Fig. 100 Lodgepole pine beetle pitch tubes on the lower bole of an attacked tree.

Tree Species Attacked: Mature lodgepole pine is attacked.

Insect Description & Damage Symptoms: The adult beetle is 5.5 to 6.5 mm long, dark brown to black, with reddish-brown wing covers. Two anal shields are present on the larvae, which occur on only one other Dendroctonus species, the spruce beetle. One generation appears to be completed each year. Lodgepole pine beetles usually only attack old, injured, or weakened trees; fresh stumps; and windfalls. Occasionally, they will attack more vigorous trees and these attacks are marked by the presence of large pitch tubes and resinous boring dust on the lower bole and root collar. The adults construct short, stout egg galleries. Larval galleries run off from the sides, but they usually run together and become indistinct.

Damage: This beetle is not an aggressive tree killer like the mountain pine beetle as it tends to mine only in the lower bole and root crown of stressed trees. Occasionally, it will attack and kill old lodgepole pine left standing after timber harvesting. Fortunately, this activity usually involves only a few pairs of beetles and two or more generations may be required to actually kill a tree.

Similar Damage: May be confused with other beetles. Lodgepole pine beetle larvae can be distinguished from other beetle larvae that attack lodgepole pine by the presence of two anal shields. The larval galleries of the lodgepole pine beetle tend to run together and become less distinct than the mountain pine beetle galleries, but they do not mine out as large a cavity as do the red turpentine beetle larvae.

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BC Ministry of Forests
Forest Practices Branch
P.O. Box 9513 Stn. Prov. Gov.
Victoria, BC
V8W 9C2

Section phone: (250) 387-8739
Section fax: (250) 387-2136

Last updated February 15, 2002